Officials: US to send about 1,000 more troops to Poland

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials say the Pentagon expects to send about 1,000 additional troops and a squadron of Reaper drones to Poland to beef up the nation’s ability to defend itself amid worries about Russian military activity.

The final decision was still under discussion Tuesday. Polish leaders have been lobbying for more American troops on their soil.

Officials say the preliminary agreement calls for building a new combat training center in Drawsko Pomorskie and additional facilities in the future. There is a rotational force of about 4,500 U.S. troops in Poland now. They aren’t permanently based there.

An announcement is expected Wednesday when President Donald Trump meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House. An aide to Duda has said that negotiations to increase American troops in Poland were successful.